By Quin Severo
Staff Writer
Achieving a feat they had not accomplished since 2009, the Costa girls tennis team advanced to the third round of the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs.
The Mustangs ended their year with a final record of 2-1 in CIF. The girls played their last match on Nov. 11 against Campbell Hall High School and lost, 13-5. Freshman doubles team of twins Katarina and Isabella Draskovic won both of its matches, 6-1 and 6-0.
“We had a really good match,” Katarina Draskovic said. “Their singles players were really strong, and we did our best. Our loss to Campbell did not upset us because they have very good players, and we knew we did our best.”
Previously, in the second round of CIF, the girls defeated Northwood High School at Northwood, 10-8. Every singles player was able to win a match. Freshman singles player Amy Gaal won both her matches, 6-1 and 6-3. Junior Taylor Klein also contributed to the match and won, 6-3 and 6-4 and junior Brooke Swallow won both matches, 6-4.
“Although we did well as a team, tennis is a very individual sport, and I was able to advance,” Gaal said. “I got an opponent who matched my style of play, so I was able to beat her,” Gaal said.
The girls played Louisville High School on Oct. 30, winning, 16-2 in the first round of CIF. Doubles team of senior Paula Cenusa with junior Mai Nojima and Swallow each won a match, 6-0.
“The Bay League is one of the best tennis leagues in California, so we were simply a much better team than Louisville,” coach Joe Ciasulli said. “We were heavy favorites to beat Louisville in the first round, and we did.”
The girls defeated Redondo Union, 12-6, in the final Bay League match of the season. The Draskovic twins won all three of their matches.
“In this match, our singles players were not doing well,” Klein said. “I was down in the beginning, but I figured the opponent out and ended up winning, and it was one of the best matches I’ve played in a while.”
The team has improved from last year, when it lost, 13-5, in the second round of CIF against Thousand Oaks High School. Girls tennis finished their season with a record of 6-2 in Bay League and an 18-4 record overall.
“This was the most successful season in Costa tennis history,” Ciasulli said. “The team had the second most wins in history.”
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